Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Reprezentin'

Question: What do these five wrestlers have in common?

I don't expect anyone to get the answer; the connection between these five is just too obscure, but for the record, they all happen to be of Filipino heritage. The Philippines celebrates Independence Day on June 12 so I thought I'd do a feature on American wrestlers who are part Filipino. Let's start with the most recognizable one, Batista, whose real name is David Bautista. Batista/Bautista will be appearing in Marvel Comics' big screen feature Guardians of the Galaxy this summer.

Batista plays Drax in Marvel's " Guardians of The Galaxy."

Here's TNA star Zema Ion aka DJ Z (formerly Shiima Xion). You can read more about him on his Wikipedia page by clicking here.

Another TNA wrestler who is half-Filipino is TJ Perkins aka Manik. Perkins also wrestles in the independent circuit as the masked Puma (he's wrestled under so many names ever since he went pro, among them, Pinoy Boy. Pinoy is an informal demonym referring to the Filipino people.)

There's also Scott Lost, whom I know very little about. He used to appear in the independent circuit, but I believe he retired from wrestling already. Watch his video profile circa 2009 here and a compilation of his Top 10 moves here.

And last but not least is Elvis Aliaga. Aliaga (6 ft., 225 pounds, 28 years old) is on the roster of World League Wrestling. Watch him in action on his YouTube Channel.

There you have it. My little tribute to Philippine Independence Day. Hope you enjoyed it.